Editorial Board Praises Polis as ‘Inventive and Successful Businessman,’
‘Champion for All Aspects of Colorado’s Quality of Life’

The Colorado governor’s race pits the “inventive and successful businessman” against the “inept and unprincipled politician,” the Aurora Sentinel writes.

The Sentinel’s enthusiastic endorsement of Jared Polis yesterday is noteworthy not only because it is the first newspaper endorsement in the Colorado governor’s race, but also for its forceful rejection of Walker Stapleton, whose “dishonesty” and “dangerous policies” have created “a compelling list of why he should not be governor and virtually no reason why he should,” the editorial board says.

“None of what Stapleton is offering is what Colorado has ever has been, nor should it ever be. Stapleton is out of touch, out of bounds and out of his league in reaching for the Colorado’s governor’s chair,” the editorial board wrote. “Polis, however, offers ideas, policies, experience and enthusiasm that are quintessentially Colorado, and uniquely his own.”

Below are key excerpts of the endorsement. The full editorial is available here.

On Polis’ education background:

“As former chairman of the state’s Board of Education, Polis developed a reputation for protecting local control of schools while at the same time helping all schools raise the bar on student performance. He recognizes two critical hurdles Colorado must overcome: a shortage of funding, and a lack of early childhood education.”

On Polis’ health care plan:

“Polis is realistic and visionary in his approach saving Colorado from its health carequagmire. While Stapleton and others continue to spin useless variations on the same approaches that have created the state’s health-care crisis, Polis is offering a realistic way forward.”

On Polis’ environmental plan:

“Polis has long been a champion for all aspects of Colorado’s quality of life. He has been a stalwart opponent of a scheme to jeopardize the state’s vast and irreplaceable public lands, a ruse seeking an end-run around longstanding federal stewardship set in motion eons ago. Polis as governor recognizes the ethical, economic and practical benefit of protecting the environment for current and future generations, and how that can be balanced with the variety of industries that depend on access to land, water and natural resources.”

On Stapleton’s health care plan:

“The outline is virtually a history lesson of how Colorado got to the unenviable place it is today. It shows a serious lack of foresight and that Stapleton simply doesn’t have a grasp on how complicated and serious the health care crisis is.”

On Stapleton’s transportation plan:

“Likewise, Stapleton’s plans for expanding and repairing roads virtually by magic, without fiscal consequence, reveals a vastly inadequate grasp of state finances and economics that Colorado residents can ill afford.”

On Stapleton’s opposition to universal background checks:

“Stapleton has embraced a far-right view of gun control enjoyed only by a minority of gun-extremists. He’s vowed to undo what few gun controls the state has on the books. He’s pushed back against a red-flag bill in Colorado that garnered the backing of Republican sheriffs and police officers across the state and even legislators in his own party.”

On Stapleton’s dishonesty:

“Far more troubling is Stapleton’s dishonesty about his personal finances, and his unwillingness to take almost any questions from the media, especially hard ones.

“Stapleton was disingenuous at best when elected state treasurer in 2010 and promising to create a blind trust for his considerable financial assets and step down as CEO of his family land-holding business. He fumbled the blind trust mission and his promise, a story in Sentinel Colorado revealed. State and federal records show he was actively working to buy out stock in the family business months after becoming treasurer. He is still listed as a consultant for the business and eligible for upwards of $150,000 as a part-time job.”